Etosha

After we quit the costal dunes and headed inland to the capital of Windhoek (not worth picturing) we went north to the old mining town of Tsumeb. Tsumeb is a pleasant village set up around one of the world's oldest copper mines. In prehistory the mine was used by the Khoisan people where they traded the copper ore for riches from their western neighbors. When the Germans arrived the mine developed into it's modern form and has the record for the most distinct types of minerals found in one place.

A museum ran by a lady who has never smiled.

The real star of the north is Etosha National Park. Centered around the Etosha Pan this park has some of the best game viewing in Africa. We rented a car in Tsumeb and had a two day self-driving safari. We saw everything there was to see. We came across zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, oryx, springboks, dik-diks, roan antelopes, red hartebeest, black faced impalas, warthogs, kudus, ostriches, secretary birds, hammerkop, guinea fowl, jackals, hyenas, white and black rhinos, elephants, lions, and amazingly a leopard.
The highlights including seeing a group of rhinos having an intense staring contest with and a few charges at three lions for use of the Halali watering hole, getting a big male lion walking down the road in front of us with no one else around, and stopping by the last watering hole on our way out of Etosha only to come across a leopard in a tree. As well as seeing all the animals, Eva and I got to experience what it's like to have a tire completely blow out leaving nothing but a rim and some rubber teeth. Thank God cars come with spares.

Taking a mud bath.

The Okaukuejo watering hole.

The early bird catches the growly worm.

An oryx or gemsbok going for a morning stroll.

Trying to take a jumping picture on the pan.

Rhinos getting a drink before an intense night of giving the stink eye to some lions.

On the last final moment possible we got it!  Leopard, you have been seen.

Namib Desert

After Cape Town we spent a few more days in the area before getting on an overland tour through Southern Namibia.  As fierce independent travelers, both Eva and I were reluctant about doing a group tour.  Later after we got to the end of the tour and realized the whole country of Namibia was booked solid and public transport almost doesn't exist to the places we wanted to go, a tour wasn't a bad idea at all.  Beyond that we met many cool people from many cool places and didn't have to think about planning for one week.  Our tour started in Cape Town and was 6 days long.  We went up through the Northern Cape, canoed on the Orange River, explored a bit of the Fish River Canyon, saw the famous Soussevlei, and sandboarded in Swakopmund.  

The Fish River Canyon.

An endemic quiver tree.

Our lovely truck Jimi.

The moon rising over the Sesriem Canyon.

Dune 45 at sunrise.

Deadvlei.

(Stolen from Wikipedia; a.k.a. I did a really crap job taking pictures).

The flamingos in Walvis Bay.

Capetonian Vibe

After Kruger we flew once again to Cape Town.  We stayed in the Cape one week since there is so much to do in the city.  In our time in the cape we went down to Cape Point, visited the water front, saw penguins, climbed Table Mountain, visited the botanical gardens, found Nemos, visited Parliament, and ate a lot of great breakfasts.

Someone lost her Nemo.

Seaguins.

Landguins.

A group of rock hyrax.

A native South African beauty in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.

Outside of the South African Parliament.

Two Parliament members making a deal.